Elon Musk tried to open his World Economic Forum appearance with a pun about President Donald Trump’s newly unveiled Board of Peace — and it didn’t exactly win the room.
Speaking Thursday, Jan. 22 in Davos, Switzerland, Musk, 54, said he initially misheard news about Trump’s peace push as something else entirely.
“I heard about the formation of the peace summit, and I was like, is that p-i-e-c-e?” Musk said, laughing at his own line as the crowd stayed mostly quiet.
Noticing the lack of reaction, Musk glanced toward the moderator and explained the joke was aimed at what he described as Trump’s expansionist ambitions in the Western Hemisphere.
“You know, a little piece of Greenland, a little piece of Venezuela,” he added, prompting the host to briefly laugh along.
“All we want is peace,” Musk said.
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Musk previously served as the first leader of the Department of Government Efficiency after Trump took office in January 2025. He left the administration in May.
After a public rift that cooled their relationship for months, Musk and Trump have recently appeared to be on friendlier terms. Musk has attended events with the president and described a Mar-a-Lago dinner with the first couple as “lovely.”
Trump’s new Board of Peace is described as an international organization intended to oversee the redevelopment of Gaza and address other global conflicts through a 20-point plan.
The board, which is set to be chaired indefinitely by Trump, is free for the first three years by invitation — and then costs $1 billion to obtain permanent member status.
“Each Member State shall serve a term of no more than three years from this Charter’s entry into force, subject to renewal by the Chairman. The three-year membership term shall not apply to Member States that contribute more than USD $1,000,000,000 in cash funds to the Board of Peace within the first year of the Charter’s entry into force,” the draft said.
Trump has faced resistance to the Board of Peace from Western allies. Canada, in particular, will not participate following a conflict between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Trump.
In a message on Thursday, Jan. 22 to Carney via Trump’s Truth Social account, Trump wrote, “The Board of Peace is withdrawing its invitation to you regarding Canada’s joining, what will be, the most prestigious Board of Leaders ever assembled, at any time.”
Russia and China said they received invitations to join the charter but have not confirmed whether they will participate.
More than 20 countries — largely from the Middle East, Asia and South America — have said they will join the group, including Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Bulgaria, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Mongolia, Morocco, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Vietnam, per NBC News.
